1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an injection molding machine which is provided with a conveyor for delivering out of the machine pedestal the moldings which in step with the cycles of operation of the machine have fallen out of the injection mold. The conveyor comprises an endless conveying belt, which is trained around reversing pulleys, at least one of which is motor driven. That conveying belt has a conveying surface that extends within the machine pedestal and coincides at least in part with the vertical projection of the injection mold.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conveyors of the kind described first hereinbefore have been disclosed in DE No. 32 38 185 C3 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,348 and in DE No. 34 08 459 C2 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,008. In said known conveyors the conveying belts are made of fabric-reinforced flexible webs of latex or synthetic rubber and are trained around reversing pulleys of the conveyor. As a result, the conveying surface is constituted, as a rule, by a high-polymer material, which has a relatively low stability at elevated temperatures. During injection molding operations that conveying surface is often subjected to high mechanical and thermal stresses. This will mainly be the case if the injection moldings to be delivered are at a relatively high temperature as they fall out of the injection mold. The conveying belt will also be highly loaded, e.g., when hot plastic material which has abrasive and/or corrosive properties drips from the injection mold onto the conveying surface.
It is known per se to provide conveying belts composed of plastic elements which can articulatedly be clipped to each other (see, e.g., German Utility Model No. 74 35 801; DE No. 23 00 202 C2; EP No. 0 054 394 B1) or to provide conveying belts which consist of metallic slat belt (see, e.g., German Patent Publication No. 22 64 865) or to provide conveyor belts which are composed of metal and plastic elements, which are replaceable for special applications (DE No. 32 41 632 C2; AU-A1 39,349/78).